MILTON, MA - The Wheelock College men's basketball team overcame an 11-point second-half deficit, and juniors Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) and Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI/Classical) both hit critical three-pointers down the stretch to push the Wildcats past Curry College, 68-58, on Thursday in the Curry Student Center. The visitors won their third straight contest, improving to 4-3 behind their first win in three all-time meetings with the Colonels. Curry fell to 1-7, dropping its sixth consecutive contest.
Junior Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn) tallied 20 points for the third time this season, collecting a game-high 21 for the Wildcats in addition to nabbing five rebounds. Kaim notched 14 points, five boards, four assists and four steals, while senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) had 13 points and six caroms. Sophomore reserve Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston) recorded eight points and eight rebounds, while Kashouh and junior Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) each totaled four of Wheelock's 14 steals.
The Wildcats were aided by an 18-of-20 showing on free throws, while Curry shot 9-for-17. Sophomore Sedale Jones (Pittsfield, MA/Pittsfield) led the hosts with 14 points and eight rebounds, while senior Michael Worrick (North Grafton, MA/Grafton) shot 4-for-6 from three-point range for 12 points. Classmate Chris Bonadies (Medfield, MA/Medfield) notched nine boards. Beyond Worrick, the remainder of the Colonels shot 3-for-22 from beyond the arc.
Wheelock trailed 38-27 with 17:54 remaining in regulation before tallying a 19-7 run over an ensuing 8:24 stretch, holding Curry to 3-for-12 shooting and forcing seven turnovers during the comeback. Hudson and Main each scored six of their squad's points, with a Hudson hoop at 7:28 giving the Wildcats a 46-45 edge.
Bonadies put the home team back in front at 7:15 before Kaim canned his first three-pointer of the season 19 seconds later to give Wheelock the 49-47 lead. After Jones converted a three-point play for the Colonels, Kashouh also knocked down his initial trey of the year, putting the Wildcats on top for good at 52-50 with 6:19 remaining. Wheelock pushed its advantage to six, and Curry twice cut its deficit to three, including 58-55 at 2:58, but Rice responded with a long-range shot with 2:28 to go, and the visitors never again led by fewer than six points.
Wheelock scored the first four points of the game before the Colonels went on a 10-2 run, eventually extending their advantage to a contest-high 13-point margin at 27-14 with 5:45 to go in the opening stanza. The Wildcats drew within six points three times by intermission, trailing 33-27 at halftime thanks to a period-ending 6-2 run.
Wheelock heads back into New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play on Saturday at Daniel Webster College at 1 p.m.